OTRC: Scarlett Johansson cast in 'Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of 'Psycho'

OTRC

Janet Leigh appears in a scene from the 1960 thriller 'Psycho.' / Scarlett Johansson chats to OnTheRedCarpet.com in December 2011 about finally getting to work with director Cameron Crowe in 'We Bought A Zoo.' (William Creamer / Paramount Pictures)

Scarlett Johansson is set to star in the new film "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of 'Psycho,'" alongside Oscar winners Sir Anthony Hopkins and Dame Helen Mirren.

Johansson, 27, will play actress Janet Leigh, who portrayed Marion Crane in the Oscar-nominated 1960 thriller, her spokesperson confirmed to OnTheRedCarpet.com on Friday, March 2. Hopkins has been cast as Hitchcock himself, while Mirren will play his wife, Alma, according to Variety, which first reported the news. James D'Arcy will play Leigh's co-star, Anthony Perkins, who played murderer Norman Bates in the original film, which contains an iconic naked shower scene.

"Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of 'Psycho" is touted as a biographical comedy-drama that presents a behind-the-scenes look at the film, which was marred with controversy due to complaints about violence, nudity and other sexual content and claims that a body double was used in Leigh's place during the shower murder scene.

The movie is tentatively set for release in 2013 and will be directed by Sacha Gervasi, a UK-born former documentary filmmaker who co-wrote films such as "Henry's Crime" and "The Terminal."

The script is based on a 1990 book by Stephen Rebello, who also serves as executive producer, and was co-written by John J. McLaughlin, who co-penned the 2010 thriller "Black Swan," which won Natalie Portman her first Oscar.

The other producers are Ivan Reitman, Tom Thayer and Alan Barnette. Filming is set to begin in the spring.

Anne Heche played Leigh's role in a 1998 remake of "Psycho," which starred Vince Vaughn as Bates and flopped at the box office.

Hitchcock, who died at age 80 in 1980, and Leigh were nominated for Oscars for "Psycho," which earned four Academy Award nods. Perkins died at age 60 in 1992. He reprised his role as Bates in three sequels.

Hopkins won an Oscar for his role as the cannibal killer Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 thriller "The Silence of the Lambs." The Welsh actor reprised his part in the 2001 sequel, "Hannibal," and the 2002 prequel, "Red Dragon." Mirren, a 66-year-old British actress, won an Oscar for playing Queen Elizabeth II in the 2006 film "The Queen."

D'Arcy, a 36-year-old British actor who was last seen in the Madonna film "W.E" and also starred in "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," and Johansson have never been nominated for an Oscar before. The actress won a BAFTA Film Award for her role in Sofia Coppola's 2003 film "Lost In Translation." She has been nominated for a Golden Globe four times.